Happy Valentine’s Day 2023: While one day or week is not enough to celebrate and cherish the vast emotion of love, couples all over the globe mark February 13 as Valentine's Day. On this day, different faces of love are not celebrated with much zeal and fervour. Marked by red roses and balloons, it’s eagerly awaited by couples. For the uninitiated, the day gets its name after a mysterious saint, though it is believed that it could owe its origin to more than one person. Its true origin is still very vague. According to the legend, the day is celebrated to mark the death anniversary of Saint Valentine who died in mid-February in 270 AD. It is said that Saint Valentine was a priest, who defied emperors' orders and secretly married couples to spare husbands from war. He was reportedly beheaded by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus. Another myth states that the history of Valentine’s can be traced back to “Lupercalia”, a Roman festival for fertility. It is believed that the day was celebrated as an attempt by the Church to add a religious twist to the Lupercalia festival. The festival was dedicated to Faunus, the god of agriculture, and Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. During the celebrations, men and women were paired based on a lottery system, and most of them eventually ended in marriage. At the end of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius I decided the time of Lupercalia celebrations as the date to celebrate Saint Valentine. Another legend says that a Bishop named Saint Valentine of Terni was the true namesake of the holiday. Allegedly, he used to wear a ring with the love god Cupid on it, which made him more approachable to soldiers. Historians credit Geoffrey Chaucer's poem from 1381 as being the inspiration for the present holiday of love. It establishes a link between Saint Valentine and the festival of love, supporting the notion that the festival has a long history. The celebrations start a week before with Rose Day when people express their love by giving roses to each other. It is followed by Propose Day when lovers pop the question. Then comes Chocolate Day followed by Teddy Day when chocolates and teddy bears are exchanged as a symbol of love. The next two days are celebrated as Hug Day and Kiss Day. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
